Curiosity Kills
by LeFandomFreak
Summary: After being saved by New York's mysterious vigilantes multiple times, Dakota's had enough. She was going to find out who these guys were, even if it killed her.


**CHAPTER ONE:**

This wasn't her best idea, Dakota had to admit.

Walking the dangerous streets of New York City without a partner, especially a male partner, was something everyone with common sense knew to be as stupid. Darkness had descended upon the city hours ago, the only source of light being the moon and the occasional flickering streetlight.

She had only done this once, walking alone, before. But something horrible had happened that night, thus she made herself vow she'd never do something idiotic like this again. But she was doing it again. She had broken her vow. Yet, she didn't blame herself. She blamed her friend, Logan Brymes.

Dakota was known as one of the best teenage artists in NYC. Many of her pieces hung in the homes of thousands of New Yorkers, and even her school. She'd often display her work two days a week at an underground art show she and her friends had put together. They had realized that dozens of the adolescents who attended the high school, including themselves, were surprisingly very artistic, but just hadn't been discovered yet.

The majority of teens who had any type of creative bone in their body would come to the abandoned subway station underground, choose a prime spot to display their best work, do their thing, and most likely end up leaving with a hearty pile of cash, just like she was tonight. Tons of people usually showed up after the word would get out. Most were buyers, the rest just came to look and to interact with friends.

It was inevitable, though, that soon what was once a simple, innocent, underground art show turned into a huge party after the viewings were over. Teenagers would suddenly break out the alcohol and sometimes even drugs. This would begin at around eleven o'clock.

Dakota, not one to submit herself to supporting the typical stereotype that all teenagers did drugs and drank alcohol underage and a whole bunch of other illegal things, always made it her goal to leave by eleven thirty the latest. And her friend, Logan Brymes, would always offer to escort her home.

Granted, he was one of the guys getting mixed up in all the wrongdoing... but the rest of Dakota's clean friends would leave the premise by ten thirty, way too early for her liking. Yet, she couldn't walk home alone, she realized that after making that mistake two years ago. Logan would be the one to generously offer her accompaniment, promising he'd be complete sober the entire trip. Seeing as he was well built for his age, tall with muscles that could be seen well through his shirt, and had always carried a knife in his pocket, Dakota certainly could not refuse. It was the safest option to ensure that nothing happened to her and that her money, which was tucked away nicely in a secret pocket inside her jacket, got home with her.

This time was much different, though. It was far past eleven thirty when she had finally left the subway station by herself. She had found that someone had broken out the alcohol early and Logan definitely had one too many. Dakota could tell not only by the way he talked, but by the way he schlepped himself over to her.

His words slurred badly when he asked if she was ready to go. And if that didn't already annoy her, the way he stumbled and tripped at least four times when he came over must've really made her mad. And honestly, it really hurt her feelings that her good friend had done this to himself with absolutely no regard for her feelings or safety. Not many girls hung around after eleven o'clock...

Here she was, now, hurriedly stepping along the cracked sidewalks of her neighborhood, freezing cold as it was winter and she did not possess a coat to keep her body sufficiently warm, and furiously cursing out her friend under her breath. Dakota wanted to get home fast; this eerie neighborhood creeped her out in the daytime, let alone the night. Bums usually hung around these parts and Dakota really had no intention or desire of meeting any tonight.

The sudden sound of metal clashing against metal made her heart jump into her throat. Her long strides quickly came to a halt. Emerald eyes surveyed the area around her, though, she couldn't see much in the darkness. So she decided then to focus on what she could hear, instead of see.

Nothing... Dakota heard nothing but the occasional car horn from a couple blocks over. Well, that was New York for you. Perhaps this was all in her mind.

Dakota let out a sigh as she shook her head. "I need to get the heck home..." she muttered to herself. Beginning to walk again, Dakota kept aware of her surroundings. Though, she was not able to get more than ten feet before she felt an arm being wrapped around her waist.

Her panic level went through the roof and the pace her heart was previously beating at skyrocketed. Immediately, Dakota began to scream, hoping to capture the attention of anyone who happened to be awake at this hour. Though, it wasn't likely.

She swung a tightly closed fist wildly as the other hand attempted to free herself of the painful grip she was in. Her legs kicked in all directions, her intention to obviously kick the attacker in a weak spot. A particular spot if the person was a male...

Dakota's screams echoed through the night, the sound bouncing against the walls of the tall buildings that surrounded her and making them seem even louder. But then were soon cut off when a hand shot out and pressed itself against Dakota's mouth. Not only did this action silence Dakota's screams, but it always gave her a hard time breathing.

Her attempts to free herself were in vain, though she didn't give up. Dakota twisted and jerked her body in anyway she could possibly think of to escape the restraints of the arms wrapped around her. Suddenly, her feet were lifted off the ground. She was over the person's shoulder now.

Dakota had to deduce that whoever this was, they were strong. Strong enough to keep a spazzing girl in place, and strong enough to not mind the pain that most likely coursed through his or her's body when she knew she had landed a punch to their face.

It took the girl a minute to realize that whoever held her was carrying her to the nearest alleyway. There was the occasional alley that had a streetlight that probably only worked for about a minute or so, but this wasn't one of them. Dakota scowled; great, now she couldn't see how her attacker was built.

The brick wall of a large building the mugger slams her against is hard on her head and freezing against the bare skin of her neck. And Dakota was pretty sure one of her ankles, if not both, had to now be severely messed up by the way the person had dumped her on the ground.

Her body was shaking in fear and Dakota could not control the sobs and immense amount of tears that began to pour down her face. Mentally, she would've scolded herself if not for her mind being in a complete state of panic. She absolutely hated to look weak.

One of her biggest desires at that moment was to get a decent breath of air. Asthma, frigid air, and a gloved hand clamped over your mouth was definitely not the best combination, and Dakota could feel a potential asthma attack coming on. If she couldn't give this person what they wanted, she'd be screwed.

"Gimme your money," a voice spoke. It sounded tough and gravely; Dakota could only assume that this was obviously a man and that he was definitely a smoker. She eyes struggled to adjust in the darkness so that she could get a glimpse of the man, but it just wasn't working out. "I'm going to let go of your mouth. You're going to give me all the money... anything valuable on you, babe." The name used by such a foul person disgusted her... "If you scream, I'll slit your throat."

Dakota took this as an empty threat at first, seeing as she could feel both of his hands on her. So where, exactly, would the tool be to slit her throat? But she soon mentally ate her words when his hand parted from her lips and she heard sound of a pocket knife opening. The cool metal was then pressed to her throat, causing her to let out one more quiet sob.

"Where's the money?" he demanded.

"I-I don't h-have any," she stuttered out, trying her best not to sound as afraid as she really was. Though, she figured the man pretty much assumed she was a wimpy little girl considering all that crying she was doing.

"Bull," he replied with gritted teeth. "I'm going to give you one last chance before I let your blood spill all over the ground, girly."

"Please don't hurt me," Dakota began to sob all over again, pleading over and over for her wish not to be harmed. The man couldn't even seem to get a word in with the way she kept begging him on and on. It was almost seeming to work as Dakota could feel the grip on her body lessen. But just like that, the attitude switched.

"SHUT UP!" the man exclaimed angrily, using all of his might to shove the poor teenager to the ground.

Dakota met the concrete with a thud. Her entire body ached and she could feel bruises forming all over herself. It was then that her eyes began to adjust. Slowly but surely, she could see the silhouette of a closed dumpster, a broken bicycle, some fire escapes, and a couple of pigeons some yards away.

She mustered the strength to roll herself onto her back, her intention to finally get a good look of the man harassing her. Only, what she got wasn't quite what she wanted...

The mugger pounced on her like a tiger does it's prey. This man was insanely heavy for someone of her frame and Dakota could feel the wind being knocked out of her. She couldn't breath and began to panic all over again.

Both her arms were being pinned up above her head by only one hand of his while the other rummaged through the girl's pockets. It was rather rough and Dakota did not like the strange feeling. It made her feel extremely violated. Extremely.

She began to plead for him to stop once again, only he didn't bother making any responses. He just kept going. Unfortunately, he came to realize that Dakota also had secret pockets inside her jacket. Right where her money was. She could not let this happen. That was her rent.

It just when she was taking a deep enough breath to let out another ear-piercing scream when Dakota suddenly felt the weight being knocked right off of her. Her arms and legs were no longer pinned. She could get up! But, wait... how?

She heard grunts of pain coming from the far side of the alley. Quickly, she whipped out her phone from her jeans pocket (thankfully one pocket he hadn't gotten to yet) and activated it's flashlight. Dakota knew she should have been running away by now. She should have been looong gone. But she couldn't help but feel a little curious as to what just happened. With the flashlight now working, she shined it in the direction where she had heard the grunts and groans. There, lying beside the far wall of the alley, laid the very man who tried to steal her money. He wasn't dead, but definitely out cold.

Dakota's mouth hung open. Honestly, she didn't know quite what to do with herself. Was it over? Was it all really over? She wanted to feel safe, but she didn't. Because if whatever out there had just knocked a large man off of her so hard that he went unconscious, how strong are they, were they a good guy or a bad guy, and would they be coming for her next?

With quick, shallow breathes, the girl backed herself against the wall and slid down, again coming in contact with the ground. She knew she was in no state to begin the walk home once again, even though now she was less than about five minutes away. She was completely discombobulated now. Her mind was scrambled and her heart was beating at such a fast pace that she was sure she'd blackout soon. Dakota needed to calm down.

She focused on her breathing. In two, three, four... out two, three, four... There was a decrease in the beating pace and Dakota was thankful for that. Bringing her legs in toward her chest, she wrapped her arms around them in a hug and laid her face in her knees. It was the only was to keep warm, since it was definitely below twenty degrees.

Realization suddenly hit Dakota. She had just been mugged. Mugged by a vicious man who could've no doubt killed her if she did not cooperate. But then she was saved. Saved by someone obvious much stronger, or much more skilled in taking down opponents. Questions flooded her mind.

Who was this guy? Where'd this guy come from? ...Was he even a guy? What if it was a girl? Ugh, did it matter? She had been saved! But... had he been watching her the whole time, or was he passing by and made the decision to do something heroic today? Wait, no... those weren't important right now. The real question was whether or not he was still there watching her or not. And, what if he actually wasn't a good guy after all...

She went at least half of a minute listening carefully to whether or not she could hear the savior make any noise. But all she heard was silence. Maybe he had gone...

"Are you alright, miss?"

Dakota's head snapped up in an instant. Her emerald eyes darted around the darkness but she could see nothing but black. Her heart picked up it's pace once again. What did this person have in store for her? Dakota didn't trust anyone in this city.

"P-Please," she began, tears once again welling up in her eyes. "don't... don't hurt me. I-I'll give y-you my money... honest! Here, just take it!" Dakota shoved her hand inside her jacket, rummaging around for her white envelope of cash. Once she found it, she threw it away immediately towards the area of where the voice was coming from. Threw it away as if her hand was going to melt if she held it any longer.

It disappeared in the darkness, making Dakota's heart sink. That was her rent for the month. That was her expenses for food. That money was going to keep her going for a while. But now she had given away, and was pretty certain that whoever was around had taken off with it by now.

A noise that sounded like something was smacking against the ground startled her. Though it was pitch black, her eyes were slowly beginning to adjust. Dakota wiped away some tears and looked down expecting to see... well, she honestly didn't know what to expect. So she begun to prepare herself for the worst, only to see when she looked down a white envelope. _Her_ white envelope.

Emerald orbs flickered between the darkness and her livelihood. He threw it back to her? He honestly didn't want her money. ...What kind of person was this?

"That belongs to you, not me," he said.

"Then why are you here?" Dakota inquired suspiciously, re-pocketing the cash in the safety of her inside coat pocket.

"I want to ensure that you're alright,"

"...I... I..." It was just at that moment that Dakota began to have head trouble. Her skull was throbbing. When the attacker had thrown her to the pavement, she had no warning, nor any time to save her or protect her head. So, it had collided with the ground, only, Dakota hadn't felt it until now. "My head... really hurts."

She could hear him chuckle, though, she couldn't really find the amusement in the situation. "Yeah, you smacked the ground pretty hard."

With a sigh, Dakota allowed her head to lean against the cold brick wall. Just breathing too heavy caused her pain. "Were you the one who did that?" she wondered, weakly pointing a finger towards the unconscious mugger.

"Yes."

"...Why can't I see you?"

"Maybe I don't want you to see me."

Dakota let out a soft exhale. So he was going to be difficult, was he? She should have figured. Heroes were either one way or the other: they either wanted to be known for their deeds or they wished to remain hidden. She preferred that this one didn't hide himself, though...

Something suddenly clicked. It was about two months ago, perhaps three, that she had been watching the news one night. The anchors were talking about how two victims of an attempted kidnapping claimed they were saved by a vigilante. Then, three weeks later, those types of reports came in more and more frequently. Was this the guy everyone had raved about?

If lightbulbs actually did pop up above people's heads when they had an idea, Dakota's would be shining ever so brightly. Her phone's flashlight was still on from when she wanted to see what happened to her attacker. Now, if she moved like lightning, and shone the light on the precise area where she heard his voice coming from, perhaps she could get a decent glimpse of him.

This was a matter of who was quicker than the other. And it began... now.

Dakota threw her arm in the arm, being careful to shine the bright light in the right direction. She was fairly confident in her skills; after all, it was just as dark where he was standing. He couldn't have seen her plot.

But he must've. It was either that, or the mugging she went through had put her in an intense state of shock, throwing off her sense of direction completely. Nobody could move that fast. He was gone. No matter where she moved the light, he wasn't there.

Again, she heard him laugh. "Nice try," he said. "I'm just a little faster than you are."

Dakota didn't answer. Half the reason why was because she was annoyed, and the other half was because the sudden movements she had done caused her to become severely dizzy. Her eyes became half lidded as her phone-holding arm dropped to the ground.

All amusement now clear of his voice, the hero began to ask her if she was alright. She could not make herself respond, so he tried again. He kept repeating his question until slowly, she no longer heard his calming voice anymore.

All went black.


End file.
